Tag Archives: business

Somethings Coming!

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Coming Soon

I told you there’d be more info coming. There’s so much to do to get ready.  I keep thinking of more and more details that have to be addressed before I can make the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. But I am really excited and , truth time, kind of scared. I’ve dabbled with self employment in the past. The biggest attempt was 7 years with my own Arthur Murray Dance Studio. That was both the best and worst of times as the saying goes. In the end I had to sell at a loss. Long story and one I don’t feel like sharing today. 

 

 

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I’ve tried other things too from selling Mary Kay Cosmetics to candles, most recently Door Dash,  with varying degrees of success.

A year or so before I was laid off at Redfin I took a e-commerce course online. It was expensive but it went into a lot of detail and I felt I got my money’s worth until I got to the last unit.  The question for that chapter was What are you going to sell? But it didn’t give any guidance as to how to find a product. So after all the time effort and expense, that course didn’t get me where I wanted to go. 

E-Commerce

Since I’ve been retired I’ve kept hearing about e-commerce so I’ve been digging into that. How can your average Joe make money online? One way is to order a bunch of products, lets say T-Shirts with sayings. Have a bunch printed and send them to Amazon who will warehouse them and fill your orders. That had me wondering how much do I order, how many different sayings and what sizes?  I’ve met people that have done it but it’s a lot of work and when starting up a lot of it is guesswork. 

An Online Store

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Recently I came across several testimonials from people that were running online businesses without having to purchase their product stock up front. So I started researching. Now I’m finally ready to share what I’ve been working on even if I’m not ready for the BIG REVEAL.

I’m planning an online store. I’m working on the web design now and selecting the products I want to offer. I bit the bullet and hired and advertising company to put together a small (its all I could afford) campaign for the grand opening. After all, if no one can find my store I won’t get any sales.  

I’m planning a Home Goods store to start out. I expect the store will evolve as we go along. I have a name and I think we’re headed into the home stretch. A couple more weeks and I can unveil  the site and open my doors. So stay tuned for more info as I get closer to launch. 

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A Click Too Fast

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Sometimes I can be really stupid. What’s that expression, “Measure Twice , Cut once” ? There should be one about ask twice before delete once. It may not be a snappy but it would have saved me buckets of grief!

I mentioned this a few posts ago but I have more info now.

I have my photo website, http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com. Here you can order prints of my pictures if you find some you really like. I haven’t had much luck with the “Fine Art”  or Animal and Nature prints so far but I was really trying to drive interest by adding greeting cards.

One of the vendors had an awesome collection of templates , especially for Christmas and Hanukkah. You could select the template, add the photo you liked and even add 2 lines like “from our house to yours” or  ” Season’s greeting, the Jones Family”.

xmas-card-sample

Because I was beginning to get inquiries I went behind the scenes to be sure my price lists were up to date. I didn’t want someone putting in an order that I couldn’t fill. That would not make for a positive experience. Sure enough, the single card option was gone.

I spent hours searching through the data bases, nada. So with a heavy heart and feeling quite discouraged I might add, I deleted the price list and started over with the options that are now available.

On a whim I sent off an email to zenfolio customer support. They confirmed the single card option was gone but they told me I was grandfathered in. WHAT! Unfortunately there is no way for them to restore the price lists I deleted so even though I was grandfathered  that too fast click on delete took it all away.

I’ve been looking into what they call “Self Full filled” options so if I can locate templates, I may be back in business.

I hope so. I really wanted to see this pick up this year. I think I will practice on the Birthday Cards first.

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I’ll keep you posted!

There’s no season in Retail

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A pet peeve of mine is that retailers don’t let one holiday finish before they start the next one. Before Halloween one of my local stores had 3 separate displays set in a row, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When I commented on it the clerk replied “There are no seasons in retail.”

I’m beginning to understand what she meant. Thanks to my 2 web sites where I sell my greeting cards online and my little kiosk at Cape Cod Crafters in Pembroke, Ma, I am finding that it’s a lot different selling retail than making cards for a few friends. There needs to be a lead time so shoppers can find the cards, have time to buy them, address them and get them in the mail.

Last year I really dropped the ball. I had nothing ready by Christmas so it was a 2 week scramble to get cards made and distributed. This year I’m doing a little better but still cutting the time too short. At the moment I’m waiting for supplies and prints so I can put the cards together and get them advertised online and into the shop.

So here’s an update for anyone who might be interested in Holiday cards. I will custom design a Thanksgiving card if you email me. The cards are $3.95 each plus 6.25% tax for Mass residents and shipping. I don’t plan to have a line of Thanksgiving cards this year because it’s too close to the big day but I’ll work on it for 2013.

Christmas Cards or if you prefer Holiday cards will be online within 2 weeks as soon as the supplies get here. Keep your eye on www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com.

If you are looking for a really pretty card but want to keep your costs down you should check out my photography web site on http://www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com

I have a slightly different line of cards there.  On http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com you’ll find 10 holiday photos ( More being added) to choose from. Once you chose your photo you select the card design you like. You’ll have the option to add a short message. You might be prompted to review the placement of your photo and chose if you want a plain paper or “metallic”.

The metallic gives a very shiny finish but the plain paper is a glossy finish too so both are very attractive.

These postcard style cards come with an envelope and are a less expensive alternative to the hand crafted cards I sell on etsy.

I hope you’ll check them out. I’d love to be able to fill your holiday card needs.

Dusty Roads Photos Announces…

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We are pleased to announce the opening of a small kiosk where customers can purchase photo cards. We’ll soon be adding canvas prints, key chains and ornaments.We already have two online stores www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com and www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com so this will be our first attempt at a brick and mortar location. The kiosk is located in Cape Cod Crafters, 295 C, Old Oak St, Pembroke MA but the locals know it as the Christmas Tree Shop Plaza. So if you are in Southeastern Massachusetts I hope you’ll come and visit. If you are not local, please stop by one of my online sites. Thank you all for supporting Dusty Roads Photos.

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